Insidious C. 

I would like to purchase a camera for the purpose of identifying vehicles and people in close proximity as I ride. I often ride at night- if there is a difference in cameras in that regard it would be important. The next time I get shot with a air gun from a passing vehicle, as happened last week, I would like to provide the Sheriff with pictures or video. In related info or resources appreciated. I am not a too hip about "gadgets."

Shimagnolo

If night time video is important, look for a camera using the Sony "Exmor" sensor. It's low-light performance is incredible. Samples I've seen are accompanied by explanations that the actual environment was much darker than it appears in the video.

Here is a review of the Sony AS100V: Techmoan - Techmoan - The Epic Sony AS100V Action Camera*Review

Techmoan also has a review of the DOD Champion SP1 Motorsport dashcam (with Exmor video chip) on their home page, but that is intended for automotive use, so it would require an external USB battery pack to use it on a bicycle.

1nterceptor

I've been using a ContourGPS for about 4 years now and I'm happy with it.
Catching license plates at night might be a bit tricky; make sure to use good lights
You may want to look into using 2 cams; front & rear.

9:09 mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLeZ...6zPoymgKaIoDLA

ItsJustMe

License plates in daylight are tricky. At night they may be basically impossible. Sony sensor is your best bet but I wouldn't take very big bets on it.

I haven't had ANY cameras at all that could reliably read a plate in daylight. That's several Chinese cameras, a Contour Roam, a GoPro Hero3 White, an original Sony ActionCam. If they're moving relatively slow, maybe 15 MPH faster than you at most, you'll probably catch them in daylight, but faster than that, probably not.

When you get into low light, most cameras reduce their shutter speed. At 1/30 second, a car moving at +15 MPH will have a pretty blurry plate. In very low light cameras either go to black or drop to frame interpolation where they will go to 1/15 second shutter or less and paint the same frame twice. At 1/15 second there's basically no chance to read a plate unless the car is basically stopped.

Shimagnolo

These two photos are video grabs from today, of an innocent motorist, just to show what can be done:
- One from helmet camera. (Replay XD Prime X, FOV set to 116 degrees).
- The other from a rear-facing camera mounted 2" inboard from the end cap of drop bars, (Replay XD 1080 Mini, FOV fixed at 110 degrees).

I'm climbing a mild grade at ~12mph in a marked bike lane. The car is doing ~45-50mph, and is giving me plenty of room, at least 6'. Note that the sun is at my back, so the rear camera is pointing toward the sun, and the front of the car is in the shade. Both cameras are shooting 1080p @ 30fps.

A big issue with reading license plates is that low-cost POV cameras frequently have crazy wide FOV. That is good in that it makes it more likely your subject is in the frame. But it sucks for reading plates because it makes all objects look smaller, and further away. For example my old Contour Roam has 170 degree FOV!

BobbyG

I just have an old Contour Roam on my helmet. Why not a t-shirt or sign on the back of your bike that says "Smile, You're on Camera" or "Videotaping in Progress" or "I have are a very particular set of skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

slimyfrog

Thank you for posting the pictures. Images look very clear. The Mini seems very affordable as well... How long do the batteries last on those two cameras in real world situations? I have an older HD Hero 2 with great image quality, but it only lasts about 2 hours at 1080p x 30fps.

gregf83 

Curious if those shots were cropped or full size images?

Shimagnolo

Best price I've seen on the Replay cameras is here: Replay XD 1080 Mini Action Camera System 01-RPXD1080M-CS B&H

They *claim* 130 minutes on the Mini battery, but my experience is more like 100 minutes. I wish they would make it a little bigger just for more battery life. Replay also sells external battery packs that connect to the camera via a replacement rear cap that includes an external power cable.

The Prime X is larger than the Mini, and has much longer battery life. They claim 3.5 hours which seems accurate.

Shimagnolo

Those were cropped.
Original image: 1920x1080
Helmet cropped to: 718x538
Rear cropped to: 792x546

Shimagnolo

And a camera on any vehicle is great for catching those WTF? moments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTehQcOLTlc

Bugstomper2000

Haha what?

This is what I hope to do once I get around to building my fixie. Use the old route for the brake cable for the wires, and the blue thing is a battery. Orange wires just represent where it's running through the frame. Of course they would be positive and negative wires in a casing. This way the only limiting factor is the sd card in the cameras. I plan on getting a bike delivery or bike messenger job downtown next summer.


Obviously, the cameras and lights would face forward and backward.

Chris0516

I have the GoPro Hero4 Silver. I am very pleased with it.

JohnnyCyclist

I have the RidEye front and back. My avatar is from a screen capture taken just yesterday with the RidEye (full disclosure: slightly downhill, max effort, my biggest gear of 50x12 to hit 34mph - it still brought a smile to my face).

No experience with the RidEye at night, sorry. I still have yesterday's video. Let me see if I can grab some license plate shots both in the sun and shade - that might give you some indication.

JohnnyCyclist

Shadow (note the angle of sun to the vehicle - license plate in shade is still readable):

JohnnyCyclist

Here are a couple more, just a few seconds apart. The sun is directly at my back now. The license plate is readable when it's at an angle, but completely washed out by the sun a few seconds later.

JohnnyCyclist

No front license plates in PA, so the best I could do was find a couple where I passed parked vehicles. The front "88" plate in the first shot is easily readable. The license plate in the second is not.

In my experience, when the sun is at an angle like it is this time of year, it's more difficult to pick out license plates. There'd be less 'light washout' on a cloudy day.

Shimagnolo

I just checked the RidEye specs: field of view 170. Ugh. That is the same as the Contour Roam I used to use. It makes everything look much smaller and further away, resulting in fewer pixels used to render a license plate.

canklecat

That same fellow, while riding a bicycle, video recorded a driver crowding him within inches on a bicycling lane. The license plate was clearly recorded and according to the YouTube note the driver was cited.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF8tJC7LBnM

berny11

Might also look at Sony offerings. They have a lot of features for the buck.

Sony RX100 III vs RX100 IV comparison, what?s the different?

JohnnyCyclist

Two more pics, taken on a cloudy day (no front plate in PA, so you have to 'imagine'):

1983

Don't forget to post every non-event on youtube, complete with antagonistic narrative.

JohnnyCyclist

I'm keeping my eye on the Barnacle Bandit. It comes in your choice of wide or standard view. It's advertised as having a 'loop record' option. I figure I could easily Macgyver up a front mount like that shown in their photo, and velcro one upside-down on the bottom of my saddle for the rear view.

They have to improve the battery life: it currently maxes out at about 1.5 hours in full 1080p (vs. about 8 hours for the RidEye). The RidEye also automatically marks video segments as read-only when it detects a crash (i.e. when the bike is tipped), and you can manually mark video segments read-only by pressing a button (that's where my avatar came from) - no mention of whether the Barnacle can do that.

Like anything else bleeding-edge, in five year's time we'll look back at today's camera technology and laugh. But I might still be using my RidEye's (assuming they don't break) - I've still got a flip-phone, complete with antenna sticking out (it makes calls, which is all I want a cell phone to do), a 2003 model mp3 player (the audio output sounds the same as anything newer, even if it is a brick with a monochrome display), and a bulky digital camera. Bluetooth? What's that, some species of shark?

fietsbob

Hasselblad its what the Pros Use .. one went to the Moon And Back..

Shimagnolo

The form reminds me of this: https://www.mobius-actioncam.com/

The Mobius was originally targeted to R/C model enthusiasts.
Later, they added dashcam functions.
Mat at Techmoan likes it: Techmoan - Techmoan - The Mobius Camera - The do-it-all mount-anywhere 1080p Micro*Cam